Bag holder



Dec. 13, 1938. N,- A. CONSTANTAINE 2,140,199

BAG: HOLDER File d Aug. 16, 1957 INVENTOR. I

Maya

ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved bag holder, the principal object of which is that of providing a simple and dependable bag holding device, and one that will not in any way damage the bag being held.

Another object is to provide a convenient support for holding a pair of such bag holders.

Still another object is to provide such a device which will hold the bag uniformly about the en- 10 tire open end thereof, instead of causing undue strain and liability of damage to any particular part of the open end of the bag.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description thereof.

15 Referring now to the accompanying drawing,

forming part of this application, and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a carriage sustaining a pair of the bag holders, and one of which is shown in section with a bag held therein, and the other also having a bag held therein.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of Figure 1, showing the bag supporting rack somewhat elevated.

W Figure 3 is a slightly enlarged front elevation of the adjustable holding means.

The support for the bag holders in this embodiment of the invention is illustrated as a fabricated chassis I, mounted upon a pair of nonpivotal wheels 2 at one end and a pair of castor Wheels 3 at the other end so that the carriage may be readily moved from place to place and conveniently adjusted laterally without raising from the floor or surface upon which the device rests.

In the upper part of the frame or chassis structure I are two parallel bars 4 forming the side members of the upper portion thereof and which are adjustably united as at 5 upon either side thereof, and intermediate of each pair of such unions is installed a flat sheet metal annulus 6, these annuli being for the purpose of each receiving the upper open end of the bag to be filled. The marginal edge of the bag is turned outwardly and downwardly completely over the upper edge of the annulus when the bag is applied thereto, and the holding means, which will be described later, is brought down to encircle this overlapped portion of the bag and impinge tight- 50 ly against same completely thereabouts, for accomplishing the desired result.

The side members or bars 4 terminate at either end in a handlelike projection I for further convenience in utilization of the portable feature 55 of the device; it being here observed that but four places of contact or union are essential in the secure holding of the device with the exception of the short binding member 8 intermediate of the annuli B, and the ends of which binding member are riveted to the annuli to further provide I rigidity and stiffness to the structure, while the said four contact points are adjustable as by bolts or the like to provide convenience in replacement or substitution of different sized pairs of annuli.

Now the clamping and holding means which 10 engages the overlapping portion of the bag before referred to comprises two like thin spring metal strips 9, which are in length preferably slightly less than approximately one-fourth of the circumferential measurement of one annulus, and a pair of these are pivotally mounted as at H] to for example a clip ll attached as by the bolt 5, before referred to, still further simplifying the ultimate construction of the device. In some instances it may be preferred to have such union slightly loose to permit of the dropping of both strips downwardly to one side as illustrated in dotted lines at l8, Figure 3, such a provision being of convenience in situations where the bag holder may be used under a spout which feeds the material to be put into the bags from above and when such clearance is necessary. However, otherwise, these strips 9 would normally stand upright as indicated in all of the figures.

Holes are provided in the outer extremities of the strips 9 into which the opposite ends of a contractile spring I2 are attached, this spring normally being of a contracted length, materially less for example than half the circumferential dimension of one of the annuli, and a short, similar, contractile spring [3 is illustrated as attached to the strips not far remote from their pivotal support I0. It is to be noted that this spring 13 has a double function in that it will normally sustain the strips in upright position as illustrated, and when the upper ends of the strips are spread and depressed to engage the overlapped portion of the bag about the upper edge of the annulus, this relatively short spring I3 will be expanded and in its attempt to assume normal straight position between these then horizontally opposed portions of the strips it will tightly impinge the bag wholly across that space which otherwise would be a loose gap in the holding of the bag. Furthermore when the strips are in their upright position waiting for manipulation downwardly about a bag, and it is desired to drop same to one side for reasons before mentioned to a position illustrated at l8, Figure 3, this spring Yan functions to keep the strips from abnormal separation where they might assume a position easily confusing the party manipulating same as to which one should be to the right or left when again raised.

The rack I 4 upon which the bags rest when being filled is illustrated of open wooden slat construction, though may be otherwise if desired, and, in Figure 1, is illustrated as resting directly upon the cross end members l5 of the chassis, while in Figure 2, it is illustrated as resting upon the removable rod I6 which extends wholly across the sides of the chassis frame, one at either end thereof, and which rods may be adjusted either up or down within the holes I! in 'the legs of the chassis; this being for selective accommodation to suit difi'erent length bags being filled, and which is considered a novel feature of the invention.

It will be understood that various modifications from that here illustrated may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in the appended claims, and that one of the advantages of this novel combination chassis frame and twin annuli is that pairs of the latter,-varying in size, may be readily interchanged without materially dismantling the former.

Having thus described my inventi0n,what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A bag holder comprising a chassis, a flat sheet metal annulus supported in the upper portion of said chassis, a pair of spring metal strips I pivotally attached adjacent said annulus, resilient means -connecting the free ends of said strips, other resilient means connecting said strips adjacent their pivoted ends whereby each pair of said strips and both of said resilient means may encircle said annulus after the open end of a bag has been folded thereover.

2. In a bag holder an upstanding support, a relatively wide bandlike ring rigidly fixed to said support, a pair of flat relatively thin metal spring -members pivotally united and supported at one end adjacent the outer face of said ring, a contractile helical spring attached at its opposite ends to the other ends of said spring members, and. a second shorter contractile helical spring attached to said spring members intermediate of their ends whereby when said thin metal spring members are spread and lowered to horizontal position about said ring and both of said helical springs also engaging the outer Wall of the ring, said ring will be firmly contacted substantially continuously thereabouts.

NICHOLAS A. CONSTANTINE. 

